


right from the start i knew

by fireundertheashes



Series: if you're lonely, wake me [1]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Multi, Pre-OT3, a coda-ish type thing, first fic in forever, how does this website work, it's been 84 years..., previously posted on tumblr, this part is rey-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2018-05-08 10:35:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5494085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fireundertheashes/pseuds/fireundertheashes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rey immediately feels her heart give a tell-tale tha-thunk when her eyes meet his. She has enough presence of mind to think an impassioned oh no before they're introducing themselves to each other. </p><p>She felt that alarming hammer of her heart once before and that was when Finn asked if she was okay, before he even considered himself. All she knows at this moment is that this could be a problem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	right from the start i knew

**Author's Note:**

> this was written quickly so forgive the fluency issues

The first time Rey meets Poe properly they've thrown their arms around each other in joy. The map is complete and no one has time to stand on ceremony - they've found a way to Luke Skywalker.  
  
They sheepishly pull apart and Rey immediately feels her heart give a tell-tale  _tha-thunk_ when her eyes meet his. She has enough presence of mind to think an impassioned  _oh no_  before they're introducing themselves to each other. 

She felt that alarming hammer of her heart once before and that was when Finn asked if she was okay, before he even considered himself. All she knows at this moment is that this could be a problem. Her self-imposed mission is looming uncertain above her, the fate of the galaxy resting on her shoulders. Again.  
  
Rey has some time before she has to leave, but she is completely sure that whatever this is, or has the potential to be, can't possibly be fully resolved before she has to leave. Especially because Finn just won't wake up. Even so she resolves to get to know Poe in the time she has planetside. Poe seems to have the same urge, seeking her out as often as she does him.  
  
It isn't long before they find themselves regularly sat together at Finn’s bedside, hearts heavy but comforted a measure by each other's presence. The medics have reassured them both multiple times that Finn is healing quickly though his mind might take a little longer to find its way back to them.  
  
Rey trusts them but there's still a lingering doubt in her mind. A vague worry that the moment she leaves, Finn’s condition will nosedive and he'll never wake up.  
  
Talking with Poe helps ease that doubt. Not just because it's it's a good distraction, talking whilst they each wonder if they should take one of Finn’s hands, but also because Poe is fascinating. He's lived an exciting life, ace pilot of the Resistance and all, and Rey could never tire of hearing about it. Could never tire of talking with Poe.  
  
The immediate affinity she felt to him only grows deeper as they talk, especially when she notices the unsubtle fondness on his face when he looks at Finn before the worry takes it over. She's sure she must have a similar expression whenever she visits Finn.  
  
As the day of her departure looms closer Rey gets busier but she still takes every moment she has spare to sit with Finn. Sometimes Poe is there, sometimes he's busy too, but he sits with her more often than not. Listening as much as he talks, and that means a lot to her.  
  
One day Rey decides to visit when she knows Poe won't be there, busy in a meeting of some kind. Her previous surety is failing her - she wants to complete this mission, she knows it's vital; she wants to meet _Luke Skywalker_  and ask him to guide her in the ways of the Force. But her heart aches when she thinks about how long she might be away. She hopes that some time alone with the man who helped her become more than a simple scavenger, however accidentally, might restore her sense of self.  
  
Though it isn't the first time she's sat alone with Finn, it's the first time in a while and the air feels different without Poe. To compensate she slings the beat up jacket around her shoulders.  
  
When Finn was brought into the medbay it had been set aside, probably to be discarded, but Poe rescued it and it took up near permanent residence on the chair next to Finn’s bed. Rey didn't know if it was all in her head but wearing the battered, half-patched leather made her feel closer to Finn.  
  
“I don't know what to do,” she admits to his prone form, pulling her feet up onto the chair and squashing herself into the backrest. “I have to leave soon, but...”  
  
Her business at the base is unfinished. She wants to remove the uncertainties, the what ifs, but whatever she does now will be incomplete with Finn still unconscious. She can't  _tell_ him.   
  
Rey sits a little longer before the silence starts to get under her skin. She says her goodbyes to Finn for the day and heads to the Falcon, hoping to tire herself with busy work enough that she might be able to sleep without the nightmares that plague her.  
  
Rey is probably there for an hour or two, elbow deep in wires and pipes, building and rebuilding already functional systems, before she hears footsteps on the grating behind her.  
  
“BB-8 said you were hiding here.”   
  
It's Poe, so Rey puts down her tools and climbs up from the floor.  
  
“I'm not hiding,” she insists, “just checking a few things before I have to... leave.”  
  
Poe looks unconvinced but doesn't call her out on it. He does however reach out and tug at the jacket Rey had forgotten she was wearing.  
  
“Wasn't expecting this to get passed around like it has. Not that I'm complaining.” The look he gives her causes Rey’s face to flush and she finally comes to the conclusion that something is better than nothing.  
  
“Poe,” she says slowly, not wanting to ruin what could be a very important moment. “Poe, I don't want to leave, not now. But I have to.”  
  
“You can't wait any longer, I know.”  
  
“It's just... Finn. I hate that I can't say goodbye properly. I want to tell him I'll be back as soon as I find Luke but I just don't know if that's the case. And I hate that.” Rey finds her boldness, reaches for Poe’s hand and meets his surprised stare with a look of fierce seriousness. “I need you to promise me that you'll take care of him. That you'll make sure he knows I'll be back as soon as I possibly can, Luke Skywalker or no. That I-”  
  
She cuts herself off, unsure whether this is the moment to make such an admission, especially without Finn there to hear it.  
  
There are tears in her eyes and she goes without protest when Poe’s arms enfold her, and her heart  _thunks_ again. For a moment they just stand there, embracing in a hallway in the Millennium Falcon. Rey doesn't sob, but enough tears gather in her eyes to spill over and leave wet trails down her cheeks. Before long Poe’s hand finds its way to the back of her neck, gently cradling her head to his chest, and the warmth of it is soothing.  
  
“I hate leaving him like this.”  
  
“He'll understand. I know he will. And you'll be back before any of us realise it.”  
  
Rey laughs a little. She is reluctant to leave Poe’s arms but she needs to see his eyes for the next thing she has to say. They don't move far apart, just enough to meet gazes.  
  
“I don't want to leave you either.” And that's as much as she feels she can admit right now.  
  
Poe smiles again and it makes her breath catch, seeing it this close. He leans forward and for a second Rey worries that he'll kiss her.  _The timing isn't right_ , she thinks in a flash of panic, and Poe seems to realise that too because he changes course and presses his lips to her forehead.  
  
Rey’s heart is so full at that moment that she can't do much more than smile and bury her face back into Poe’s chest. The moment will have its bitterness in hindsight, but for now it's all Rey needs to restore her confidence in her mission and herself.  
  
She will come back, and both Finn and Poe will be waiting for her.  
  
They stand a little longer, revelling in their mutual understanding and they don't break apart until they hear BB-8 roll up the ramp, followed by the sound of footsteps.  
  
Ultimately it turns out that they belong to General Organa, who levels an astute look at their proximity. Rey doesn't move away from Poe, instead she lets her hand fall to his wrist before entwining their fingers as they turn to face the General properly.  
  
“Poe, if I could have a moment with Rey.”  
  
Poe nods and turns back to Rey, leaving her with a nod and a squeeze of her fingers. Somehow she knows that he's off to see Finn again.  
  
She’ll join them as soon as the General has finished with her. 


End file.
